16 Sep 2026
Two of St Albans’ much-loved businesses are at risk of closure after being landed with massive backdated rates bills.
Both Smallford Farm Shop and the HATCH restaurant which shares the site are likely to cease trading next year unless something drastically changes, and their fight for survival has now been raised in the House of Commons by St Albans MP Daisy Cooper.
When HATCH took over the café last March, they were told the premises needed to be split into two separate rateable properties, so they agreed to divide the £50,000 cost while waiting for new individual valuations.
HATCH owner Chris Evans said: “We expected this to take a few months, and for there to be just a small increase. As it was it took more than 18 months, the combined rateable value of the exact same premises more than doubled, and those valuations are being backdated by 18 months.”
This means both HATCH and the Farm Shop face backdated bills in the region of £50,000 each, leaving the two businesses potentially unable to continue operating.
“We simply cannot understand how it is reasonable to impose an increase of this size retrospectively when the reason we didn’t know about it was because the valuation process took 18 months to catch up, with ‘backlogs’ being blamed for the delay.
“Had we known these costs were coming, we could at least have planned for them. We could have factored them into our pricing, staffing and, ultimately, our decision about whether the site was financially viable.
“This won’t kill HATCH as a company. But unless the backdated element of these bills is reconsidered, it very realistically will mean the end of HATCH at Smallford Farm Shop and the Farm Shop itself.
“Two businesses gone. Around 40 jobs affected. Future plans out the window. And a place that has become part of the local community potentially lost. All because of a backlog.
“Why should local businesses and the people whose jobs depend on them be expected to pay the price for an 18-month delay completely outside of their control? We are challenging the valuation and asking for help, because systems only change when the people with the power to do something about them can see the real world consequences of the decisions being made.”
Emma Colletti, owner of Smallford Farm Shop, echoed his sentiments.
“If we’d known the new costs were coming, we would have closed. We simply cannot absorb them and we can’t keep putting up prices and expect customers to keep buying.
“The truth is, retail in the UK is struggling. Our costs are rising from every direction — rates, wages, energy and the cost of the products we buy. Customers are understandably shopping with big chains and online retailers because they’re cheaper. They have economies of scale and cheaper running costs, that small independent businesses simply cannot compete with.
“We’re incredibly grateful that customers still walk through our doors. But they cannot keep spending more. There is a limit to what people can afford, and it’s nowhere near enough for small businesses like ours to absorb these extra costs.
We’ve now been told our building is ‘too nice’ to be a normal farm shop, but it’s the end of a greenhouse! No one has even visited to look at it. Instead, we received a letter telling us our costs were going up – seemingly without any thought for the people and businesses on the receiving end of that letter.
“And this isn’t just about us. We sell local produce, use local butcher Bridget B’s and work with small independent suppliers – including businesses we’ve helped become retailers for the very first time.
“Take Cici’s Coffee: a young woman on maternity leave trying to build her own business. Without independent shops willing to take a chance on people like her, how do businesses like that ever get started?
“Small businesses are the stepping stone for so many new and local producers.We want to keep supporting them. We want to keep our doors open. We want to keep serving our community.
“But the current business rates system is making that harder and harder. It’s broken – and the people who pay the price are the small businesses trying their hardest to survive.”
Speaking in the Commons this week, Daisy said: “Two small businesses in my constituency of St Albans – Smallford Farm Shop and Hatch – have just been hit with a revaluation from the Valuation Office Agency that doubles their business rates bills overnight.
“It has taken the VOA 18 months to send this bill. The delay is entirely its fault, but the VOA is backdating the liability by 18 months and demanding that those businesses pay that bill right now, even though a challenge and appeal could take a year. These businesses may not survive this shock. The VOA cannot be allowed to behave like this.”
She told the St Albans Times: “Many Smallford Farm Shop and HATCH customers have been in touch about the absolutely eye-watering rates valuation issued to these two much-loved local businesses.
“To make matters worse the fault lies entirely with the Valuation Office Agency, who oversaw a whopping 18 month delay to the valuation and now intend to backdate the bills – putting an immense and unforeseen burden on these small businesses.
“The VOA cannot be allowed to get away with this. I’ve already raised this in Parliament and am urging Treasury Ministers to intervene before we risk losing these beloved businesses.
“My team and I are supporting both businesses to work through the appeals process, and investigating any support available in the meantime. I’ll continue doing all I can.”
